Vehicles such as vans often include a sliding door connected to the vehicle body with hinges. As the sliding door opens and closes, the hinges slide along door tracks on the vehicle body and a gap forms between the vehicle body and the sliding door. Some sliding doors may be powered by a motor to allow the sliding door to automatically open and close with the push of a button or by other electrical inputs. In such automatic sliding doors, an unexpected slowing in the motor speed may be used as an indicator that an object is obstructing the sliding door.